Safety shoe having an improved guard flap



Sept. 21, 1965 R, ELLIS ETAL SAFETY SHOE HAVING AN IMPROVED GUARD FLAP Filed April 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS F055 1. FLA/5 EAAZ H MIG/[4L5 QM ATTORNEY? Sept. 21, 1965 R. L. ELLIS ETAL SAFETY SHOE HAVING AN IMPROVED GUARD FLAP Filed April 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s 5 R6 w mu m m m R v 0 W? W m; W I! wm Y MA B M United States Patent 3,206,874 SAFETY SHOE HAVING AN IMPROVED GUARD FLAP Robert L. Ellis, Binghamton, and Earl H. Ingalls, Maine,

N .Y., assignors to Endicott-Johnson Corporation, Endicott, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 448,780 6 Claims. (Cl. 36-72) This invention relates to a safety shoe having an improved guard flap providing protection to substantially the entire front portion of the foot.

Heretofore safety shoes have been quite commonly provided with built-in rigid metal box toes so as to protect the toe portion of the foot of the wearer. Attempts have also been made to protect the metatarsal and instep portions of the foot by providing flaps and guards extending rearwardly from the toe portion of the safety shoe. However, safety shoes having guard portions of this type have not been entirely satisfactory in that they did not provide adequate protection to the foot or they were excessively bulky or clumsy or interfered with the free flexing of the foot when walking.

It is a prime object of the present invention to overcome the difliculties and disadvantages heretofore encountered and to provide a safety shoe having an improved guard flap providing adequate protection to the entire front of the foot, including the toe, metatarsal and instep portions.

Further objects include the provision of a safety shoe having an improved guard flap of the above type which, in addition to providing adequate protection to the foot, does not detract from the appearance of the shoe; is not excessively bulky and cumbersome; will not interfere with the free flexing of the foot and shoe while walking; and which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble with a safety shoe to provide the desired protection to the front portion of the foot.

The invention contemplates the combination with a safety shoe of an improved guard flap which may be readily and preferably removably attached to the projecting portion of the sole of the shoe at the front portion thereof and extends rearwardly over the toe, metatarsal and instep portions of the shoe and foot to afford protection thereto. The guard flap may be readily pivoted upwardly to facilitate insertion and removal of the foot of the wearer and may be pivoted downwardly into operative position. When in operative position, the edges of the guard flap extend downwardly at the front and at the sides of the toe and metatarsal portions of the shoe so as to find support 'on the projecting sole portions of the shoe when an impact or force is applied to the guard flap.

Ina preferred embodiment of the safety shoe, a built-in metal box toe is provided in the toe portion of the shoe and the guard flap extends over the box toe so that when an exceptional impact or force is applied to the guard flap it finds additional support from the box toe. Also in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a relatively U-shaped attachment plate is attached to the upper surface of the projecting portion of the sole around the front and sides of the toe and metatarsal portions of the shoe and the guard flap is hingedly connected to the front portion thereof.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety shoe having an improved guard flap embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective, with portions broken away, showing the guard flap separated from the shoe and showing the shoe upper broken away around the toe portion to expose the rigid box toe;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the shoe;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the guard flap and attachment plate separated from the shoe with the flap pivoted outwardly to expose the under surface thereof.

We have illustrated one form of shoe in the accompanying drawings to which the invention may be applied. The shoe comprises generally an upper assembly 10 secured to a sole assembly 12.

The sole assembly comprises generally an outsole 14 and an insole 16 with a filler portion 17 between the outsole and insole at the central portion thereof. The outsole 14 has a marginal portion projecting beyond the front and sides of the shoe upper and a welt 15 extends around and is secured to the upper surface of this marginal portion of the sole.

It will be seen that the insole, upper and lining are secured to the welt by a line of stitching 18. The welt in turn i suitably secured to the marginal area of the outsole in some suitable manner as by stitching or an adhesive or both. The rear portion of the sole assembly has a heel 20 secured thereto in the usual manner.

The upper 10 is open at the top in the usual manner and the forward face of the upper is provided with a closeable opening 22 which may be opened or closed in the usual manner by means of a conventional shoelace 23 which engages with the eyeletted openings 24 and the hooks 25. A suitable tongue or gusset may be provided inside the opening in the usual manner, as shown at 26, so as to breach the gap when the shoee has been laced. The shoe upper is made of an outer layer of a suitable flexible tough material, such as leather, as shown at 28. All or a portion of the shoe may be lined in the usual manner, as indicated at 30.

As indicated most clearly in FIG. 4, the shoe upper, lining and insole are all secured to the welt 15 as by means of a line of stitching 18.

The shoe preferably embodies a safety box toe 32 positioned in the toe portion of the upper between the outer layer 28 and the lining 30. Thus, the safety box toe is permanently secured in the toe portion of the shoe and it rests on or finds support on the welt portion of the toe of the sole assembly. Thus, any blow or impact imparted to the safety box toe is transmitted directly to the sole.

The safety box toe may be of the conventional type made of a suitable rigid material such as metal, for ex ample, brass or an aluminum alloy or preferably steel.

The shoe illustrated and described herein is one conventional type of safety shoe having a metal box toe and is illustrative of the type of shoe to which the invention is applicable. The present invention comprises the combination with a shoe of this general type of an improved foot protector which affords adequate protection to the entire front portion of the foot of the wearer.

The improved foot protector is shown generally by the numeral 34 and comprises a guard flap 36 mounted on an attaching plate 38 by means of a hinge 40. The guard flap 36 is made of a suitable high impact rigid material capable of affording adequate protection to the foot of the wearer against blows or impacts. The guard flap is preferably made of a strong metal, such as steel, but it may also be made of other rigid high impact materials, such as resin reinforced fiberglass or high impact plastics such as polystyrene, polyvinyl, polyethylene or polypropylene. As shown, the guard flap i long enough to extend from the projecting portion of the sole at the front of the shoe over the toe, metatarsal and instep portions of the shoe. It is transversely concave on is inner surface and convex on its outer surface and extends downwardly at the front of the shoe and around the sides of the toe and metatarsal portions so as to provide complete protection to these portions of the foot and so as to find support from the sole portion of the shoe when a force or impact is applied to the upper surface of the guard flap. A suitable pad or lining of flexible, yielding, resilient material is preferably suitably applied to the under urface of the guard flap as by an adhesive, as shown at 37.

The pad should be made of a suitable flexible, yielding and resilient shock-absorbing material such as foam rubber, a foam resin or plastic such as polyurethane or polyvinyl or from soft rubber or felt. The pad provides additional protection and absorbs some of the shock when a blow is applied to the flap 36.

The guard flap is suitably hinged to the projecting forward portion of the sole of the shoe as by means of the hinge 40 connected between the guard flap 36 and the attaching plate-38. The attaching plate is of generally U-shaped configuration conforming in size and shape to the projecting portion of the sole assembly at the front of the shoe and around the sides of the toe and metatarsal portions. The attaching plate rests on the upper surface of the welt of the sole assembly and is removably secured thereto as by means of threaded studs or machine screws 42 extending through the outsole and welt into threaded apertures formed in the attaching plate, as shown most clearly in FIG. 4. Thus it will be seen that the guard flap may be removed and replaced in the event of damage thereto.

A suitable fastener, such as loop 44 is preferably attached to the upper portion of the guard flap as by means of rivet 45. The shoelaces may be extended through the loop in the manner shown in FIG. 1 so as to retain the guard flap in upwardly pivoted operative position when in use.

In using an improved foot protector of the type disclosed herein, it is first suitably removably applied to the shoe as by means of attaching plate 38. The guard flap 36 may then be pivoteed upwardly so as to permit unlacing of the shoe and insertion of the foot'of the wearer into the shoe. Thereafter the guard flap is pivoted downwardly to operative position and the shoelaces are extended through the loop and then laced and tied to retain the front of the shoe in closed position. When the guard flap is thus applied to the shoe and in operative position it affords full protection to the toe, metatarsal and instep portions of the foot of the wearer.- Should any force or impact be applied to the upper surface of the guard flap, it finds support from the sole of the shoe around the front and sides of the toe .and metatarsal areas of the shoe.

When such force or impact is applied to the upper surface of the guard flap, the attaching plate serves to spread the force and prevent the edges of the guard flaps from becoming imbedded in the welt or the sole. Should an unusually high impact be applied, additional support may also be obtained from the metal box toe.

The shoe may be readily removed by untying the laces, pivoting the guard flap upwardly and opening the front portion of the shoe to permit the withdrawal of the foot.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the safety shoe disclosed herein embodies an improved foot protector which, in addition to providing adequate protection to the foot, does not detract from the appearance of the shoe; is

not excessively bulky and cumbersome; will not interfere with the free flexing of the foot and shoe while walking and which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble with a safety shoe.

Modifications may be made in the illustrated and described embodiment of the invention without departing from the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. An improved foot protector for use with a safety shoe of the type having a shoe upper with toe, metatarsal and instep portions and with a sole assembly secured thereto with marginal portions projecting beyond the front and sides of the shoe upper, said foot protector com prising: a generally U-shaped flat attaching plate for attachment to the upper surface of the marginal portion of the sole assembly around the front and sides of the toe and metatarsal portions of the shoe and a guard flap made of a rigid material and of a length to extend from the front end of the shoe over the toe portion, metatarsal portion and instep portion of the shoe upper and being hingedly secured to the front portion of the attaching plate so that the flap can be pivoted upwardly to inoperative position and downwardly to operative position, said flap having a transversely and longitudinally concave inner surface at its forward portion and being formed with downwardly extending forward and side edges so as to obtain support from said plate when a force is applied to the flap while in operative position.

2. An improved foot protector as set forth in claim 1 in which the guard flap is made of metal and has a lining of yielding resilient material.

3. An improved foot protector for use with a shoe of the type having a shoe upper with toe, metatarsal and instep portions and with a sole assembly secured thereto and having a marginal portion projecting beyond the front and sides of the shoe upper, said foot protector comprising: a guard flap made of a rigid material and long enough to extend from the end of the shoe over the toe portion, metatarsal portion and instep portion of the shoe upper and having hinged means for hingedly connecting it to the marginal portion of the sole assembly at the front of the shoe so that the flap can be pivoted upwardly to inoperative position and downwardly to operative position, said flap having a transversely and longitudinally concave inner surface at the forward portion thereof with downwardly extending forward and side edges so that the side edges will obtain support from the marginal portion of the sole assembly when in operative position and a force is applied thereto.

4. A safety shoe comprising: a shoe upper having a toe portion, a metatarsal portion and an instep portion and formed with a permanent opening at the top and a closable opening at its front to facilitate the insertion and removal of the foot of a wearer; a sole assembly secured to and supporting the shoe upper and formed with a marginal portion of the sole assembly at the front of the upper at the front and sides of the shoe; a toe protector in the form of a box toe made of rigid material located at the toe portion 'of the upper and permanently secured therein so as to be supported by the sole assembly; and a foot protector in the form of a guard flap made of a rigid material extending from the front of the shoe over the toe portion, metatarsal portion and instep portion of the shoe upper and being hingedly secured to the projecting marginal portion of the sole assembly at the front of the shoe so that the flap can be pivoted upwardly to facilitate the insertion and removal of the foot and downwardly to operative position so as to afford protection to the foot, said flap having a transversely and longitudinally concave forward portion with its forward and side edges extending longitudinally around the toe and metatarsal portions of the upper so that said edges obtain support from the marginal portions of the sole assembly when a downward force is applied to the flap while in operative position.

5. A safety shoe as set forth in claim 4 in which a generally U-shaped attaching plate is secured to the upper surface of the marginal portion of the sole assembly around the front and sides of the toe and metatarsal portions and the guard flap is hingedly connected to the forward portion of the attaching plate.

6. A safety shoe as set forth in claim 4 in which the guard flap is made of metal and has a lining made of a yielding resilient material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,555,900 6/51 Roberts 3672 3,082,553 3/63 Wilmanns 3672 3,175,310 3/65 MacQuaid 3672 3,175,311 3/65 MacQuaid 3672 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN IMPROVED FOOT PROTECTOR FOR USE WITH A SAFETY SHOE OF THE TYPE HAVING A SHOE UPPER WITH TOE, MATATERSAL AND INSTEP PORTIONS AND WITH A SOLE ASSEMBLY SECURED THERETO WITH MARGINAL PORTIONS PROJECTING BEYOND THE FRONT AND SIDES OF THE SHOE UPPER, SAID FOOT PROTECTOR COMPRISING: A GENERALLY U-SHAPED FLAT ATTACHING PLATE FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE MARGINAL PORTION OF THE SOLE ASSEMBLY AROUND THE FRONT AND SIDES OF THE TOE AND MATATARSAL PORTIONS OF THE SHOE AND A GUARD FLAP MADE OF A RIGID MATERIAL AND OF LENGTH TO EXTEND FROM THE FRONT END OF THE SHOE OVER THE TOE PORTION, MATATARSAL PORTION AND INSTEP PORTION OF THE SHOE UPPER AND BEING HINGEDLY SECURED TO THE FRONT PORTION OF THE ATTACHING PLATE SO THAT THE FLAP CAN BE PIVOTED UPWARDLY TO INOPERATIVE POSITION AND DOWNWARDLY TO PERATE POSITION, SAID FLAP HAVING A TRANSVERSELY AND LONGITUDINALLY CONCAVE INNER SURFACE AT ITS FORWARD PORTION AND BEING FORMED WITH DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING FORWARD AND SIDE EDGES SO AS TO OBTAIN SUPPORT FROM SAID PLATE WHEN A FORCE IS APPLIED TO THE FLAP WHILE IN OPERATIVE POSITON. 